Gone with the Wind
by StarWritingFlute200
Summary: Set after the final episode. Arthur has to deal with the big change but he won't be alone. As he travels through the past and present he will see things in a new way and learn just how much he had missed. What will he learn about the world around him before he reenters the world he once knew?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay First off, the finale. I cried, honestly. This isn't about changing the end though. This is going to be about how Arthur is going to live now because I think everyone at the moment is focusing on Merlin and I want to do something for Arthur! Hope you like it! **

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Waking up

Arthur opened his bleary eyes for the first time in what felt like years. The world around him was blurred and he had absolutely no idea where he was or what was going on. The place he was in seemed be just an empty room. He could feel the cold stone floors beneath him and there were walls made of the same material the castle was made of all around him. His thoughts were still rather jumbled at the moment, but it only took a few seconds for the flashes of the past to make themselves known.

First he remembered being stabbed, which was odd because there wasn't any wound, not even a scar. Come to think of it, he didn't have any scars, not a single one. There also was no pain anymore and he could remember quite well that there had been pain. The next thing he felt was grief and it was overwhelming. He had killed Mordred, the boy who saved his life; the boy who he had believed would be the best of all his knights. He had gone to Morgana and turned to evil after all Arthur did for him. He probably should've expected it though; after all he had killed the love of his life. What choice had he had though? He gave Kara more chances than most and she still wouldn't repent; it was her own fault that she died. Then again, it could have been Morgana's fault for brainwashing her. Either way, Arthur still regretted the whole matter.

Soon enough Arthur began to remember large portions of what had been happened mainly the dragon made of fire and accepting that Merlin had magic. At first he had felt so betrayed, hurt, and confused but as he talked to Merlin and watched as his friend fought to save his life he realized that he'd been wrong. Magic wasn't evil or at least Merlin wasn't. Merlin had never been evil even when he killed Morgana and that was a shock in itself.

He doubted he'd ever get the image of Merlin stabbing Morgana out of his mind. He'd always assumed his manservant couldn't hurt a fly, unless he tripped and fell on it that was. Never in a million years though had he imagined he'd watch his manservant kill two Saxons with magic and later plunge a sword through Morgana's chest. The whole thought of it was surreal and it would have been laughable had he not seen it with his own eyes. Merlin and murder didn't add up, or at least, they didn't until now.

That bumbling idiot of a servant just had to have magic, didn't he? Maybe Arthur truly was a dollop-head or clot pole for not noticing sooner. Now that he thought about all the lucky breaks and moments that defied the odds, he realized how blind everyone had actually been. Still, Arthur didn't see it as a betrayal anymore; he knew Merlin meant no harm. Sure, it still hurt an awful amount, but how could he hate a man who gave up so much for him?

Suddenly his last memory hit him with such ferocity it felt like his heart was being ripped out and shattering to pieces. He remembered being unable to move or speak, he could only hear. He had just told Merlin thank you for everything he had done. It had felt like he was leaving too soon. The island was so close and he had held out for so long. It was like fate was just laughing at their futile attempt and decided that after all they'd been through they didn't deserve to even try and save him.

"Arthur…no," Merlin's voice had only been a whisper then but it grew. "ARTHUR!" When he yelled it Arthur had found the strength to open his eyes, but that took up the last of it, he couldn't do it again. He hadn't even seen anything which disappointed Arthur further. The world had swum dangerously after that one moment.

For a moment he had only heard Merlin struggle to pull him up. The attempt was fruitless and he wanted nothing more than to tell Merlin to stop. Then Merlin began to yell in an unknown tongue. The sound of it tore Arthur's heart even if he didn't know what was being said. The sound gave him chills due to the pure agony in them and whatever had been left of his heart finally broke. Arthur never in his life wanted to hear his happy-go-luck servant sound like that; he never wanted to cause the pain that Merlin had obviously gone through. He couldn't imagine being in his position having Merlin die in his arms. The thought was unbearable and he truly felt horrible for making Merlin go through it. Maybe if he had just held on a little longer Merlin could've saved him and he would have gone back to his Gwen, his knights, and not hurt his best friend so much.

He let out a short bitter laugh. It figured that the only time he had truly admitted Merlin was his friend was after his death. Arthur had known for a long time that Merlin was his brother in all but blood. He and Merlin were like two sides of the same coin, and he didn't know how well one half would function without the other.

The tears came and he couldn't hold them back. He had left his kingdom, his people, and those he loved because he died. The drops of water rolled down his face in silent defeat. Arthur realized he had forced his best friend to watch him die and condemned his wife to rule without him. There wasn't even an heir to rule if anything happened to her. It wasn't fair to any of them; they deserved better.

"Why are you crying?" A voice asked from behind him. Turning his head he saw a girl who couldn't be much older than thirteen. He emerald green eyes seemed to look straight through him as though nothing could be kept a secret from her yet they were full of intense curiosity.

"I'm dead," Arthur responded wishing the girl would stop watching him so closely. He was glad for the company but he could do without looking at her eyes, they made him uncomfortable.

She scrunched up her nose and told him, "That's a stupid reason to cry. I'm sure you have a better one." Arthur didn't like this kid too much.

Sighing he snapped, "Fine, I'm crying because I've left all my friends alone. Now they've got to try and solve problems that should have been left to me. How's _that _for a reason?"

The girl smiled, "Much better, after all, you've died you can't do anything now. What's done is done and you've put your foot prints down. They've got the world on their shoulders; past, present, and future to worry about. We sit here without a say in anything while they've got to make all the tough decisions to shape the world. All we have to do is stay here watching and wondering what we could've done differently."

No matter how true the girl's words were, Arthur took no joy in hearing them. He didn't want his friends to have to suffer because he was gone, but the girl was right. Those were no longer his problems; he couldn't do anything to help them now. They were in Camelot and he was here with this annoying girl.

"Where am I? Who are you?" Arthur asked feeling as though he should stop thinking about her as _the girl_.

Looking around for a moment the girl laughed, "You're in Avalon silly, well technically a part of Avalon. It's really complicated here and I only just started understanding how this place works. I mean most people assume you're just standing on clouds with the Sidhe but it's really different from that."

"Avalon? I'm in Avalon?" Arthur stammered to her and the still nameless girl rolled her eyes.

"My, my, the Once and Future King is certainly not named for his brains. Come on let's go to a room that you'd be more comfortable in. Since we are going to be here a _long_ while," the girl said and all Arthur could do was give her a confused look. Her emerald eyes chose then to fill with the color of pure gold. Where ever they had been originally melted away and began to mold into Arthur's bedchambers. For some reason the familiar setting put him more at ease than being in just any old room; it made him believe Merlin or Gwen would just come in at any moment. That thought made him feel extremely nostalgic.

The girl gave a hint of a smile and whispered to herself, "Ah, so many memories." Arthur decided to ignore the words that he probably wasn't supposed to hear.

For a moment he stood in his chambers then turned back to the girl completely unfazed by her display of magic, "What did you say your name was again?"

"I'm Vida," Vida responded finally. It was a strange name to Arthur, but she seemed just as strange so it oddly fit.

"So, what all do you do when you're dead? I mean, I'm kind of glad we aren't just sitting around on clouds, but I don't think I can handle doing nothing for the rest of eternity," Arthur stated awkwardly. He could barely stay still for a couple of hours, there was no way he'd last forever being alone doing nothing but thinking about the past.

Vida thought for a little, "There's lots we can do. You are a special case though, since you'll one day walk the Earth again. You've been assigned me to help keep you company. As for what we can do, we can watch what is happening with people who are alive, have brief conversations with those who have died, watch people's pasts, etcetera."

His eyes grew wide, "I can really do all of that?"

She nodded vigorously, "Of course. Now I'm going to let you sleep on your decision and we'll figure out what we're going to do in the morning."

"Wait, you sleep even when you're dead?" He asked incredulously.

"Obviously, since I just told you to sleep. We also eat, so I'll bring you your food in the morning. Good night," Vida exclaimed rolling her eyes and making her way to the door.

"Hang on, where do you think you're going?" Arthur asked stopping the teenager.

Vida turned around, "Oh come on; did you really think I was going to stay here all the time? I've got a place of my own to sleep thank you very much. I'm not going to spend every moment of my death with you. Don't be a prat." The similarity between Vida and Merlin was thrust into Arthur's sight at that point which made it harder to bear that he wasn't going to be seeing his friend for a while.

Arthur watched as she turned around and left him alone in his chambers. They weren't his chambers though; his chambers would've had his Guinevere in them. If they were his chambers Merlin would be waking him up in the morning and bringing him breakfast. Now some annoying girl would be bringing his breakfast and no matter how much she acted like Merlin, she wouldn't replace his manservant, his friend.

Settling into his bed which felt exactly as it did when he was alive, he closed his eyes to try and get some rest. It was an odd feeling knowing that he was dead but still this tired. Death wasn't something he felt ready for, not that many people are ever ready for it. No, Arthur certainly was not a fan of being dead and he probably never would be.

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**A/N: Okay, I know it's short but this chapter is mainly to get feedback about what you want to see coming up. I'm almost thinking about adding Gwaine in here because he might be fun. I don't know though, so what are your thoughts? Did you like it? Do I need to scrap the idea or add more detail? I really don't know, but thanks for reading! :) Oh, and I'm having this as K+ for now, but depending on where people want this to go I'll see if it changes to T.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all the reviews and favorites! :) Here's the next chapter!**

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Hello, Old Friend

It was sunlight that woke Arthur up that day. He had had the worst dream of his life and rolled over to tell it to Guinevere only to find that she wasn't there. This wasn't that unusual, sometimes she would already be up if Merlin was late. He wondered what had made him dream such terrible things; Merlin would probably get a nice laugh over the thought of him having magic. It was a laughable thought.

Where was Merlin anyways? He couldn't see out the window that well, but he knew that the morning much have been long gone. Why hadn't that idiot woken him up? He got out of bed and discovered that he was already dressed, but not in his usual chainmail. He was wearing his black boots, brown trousers, and a red shirt.

"Good morning!" A bright voice trilled opening up his door. He looked over and saw Vida's green eyes coming towards the table in his room setting down some trays with food on them.

So that was it then, wasn't it? He really was dead and there was no way of changing it. Arthur woke up believing that he had only had a nightmare, but the real nightmare was that he was no longer living. The grief hit him full force and he had to sit back down on his bed before he collapsed.

Vida seemed to not be paying any attention as she babbled, "I've brought us some breakfast and, let me tell you, it'll be delicious. It's Avalon food so of course it's going to be amazing. I hope you got a nice night sleep…Arthur?"

His head snapped up and looked at the girl in front of him for the first time. Vida looked much too young to be dead, but she was so energetic and full of life it was hard to think that she even was. She wore a long white dress with golden embroidery; it was plain yet radiant on her. Vida's hair was a golden copper color that looked artfully messed up in waves. The color was completely natural for the girl and it complemented her pale, porcelain skin well. As it had the day before though, her stunning green eyes were what stuck out the most. They were filled with whatever emotion she was feeling; it was like reading an open book.

"Sorry, just…I just realized that I was dead again," Arthur said sadly and she gave him a sympathetic nod. Vida walked over to him and pulled him to sit at the table.

"I know that being dead is difficult to come to terms with, but we all have to. Some of us need help from someone we know though, so I got you a friend," Vida remarked with a smile. She then turned to the door and yelled, "Well come in then!"

Arthur was nearly positive his mouth hit the floor when he saw the man who walked in. Gwaine stood before him in boots and trousers much like his own, but a grey shirt instead of red. What surprised Arthur was the look of immense grief in his eyes. The once cocky knight seemed to be depressed and broken in a way. Arthur had to admit he hated seeing the man like this. Actually, he hated seeing the man at all because it meant Camelot was missing one of its best men.

"Gwaine, I really didn't expect to see you here," Arthur told the man not knowing what else to say.

He looked at Arthur sadly and replied, "I was really hoping not to see you." His voice sounded so dead that he felt his heart drop a little. This wasn't the Gwaine he had known; something horrible must have happened before he died that made him this way. Arthur could only hope that he'd be able to reverse it.

"What happened to you?" Arthur asked cautiously trying not to set him off. It didn't seem like Gwaine would explode in anyway, but Arthur wanted to be careful.

The man looked at the floor, "I was a complete fool, that's what happened. I failed you, Merlin, and all of Camelot due to my stupidity. You're dead and it's entirely my fault; Merlin is probably dead as well and that's all my fault too."

To say he was surprised was an understatement, "What on Earth are you talking about? How did you fail me and in what way did you kill me?"

Frowning, the man said, "Percival and I set off to go find Morgana, I thought we could kill her but she was smart. She tortured me to death for your whereabouts. Now you're here and I'm betting Merlin is too because I was weak and failed you and she got to you."

Arthur hated Morgana more for doing this to Gwaine, "You didn't fail us, never think that. I was already dying when she found us and as for Merlin, well he killed Morgana not the other way around."

Gwaine's eyes grew to the size of saucers, "Merlin killed her? How did he manage that?"

"The way anyone else would, shove a sword through her chest, though, did you know Merlin had magic?" Arthur asked afraid that his answer would be yes. He didn't want to think that the person he trusted most in the world had trusted others more.

"I had my suspicions but I never got the chance to confront him about it. I always assumed that if he did have magic it was being used to help you because that's just the way he was, Arthur. He never did anything for himself he always did everything to help you or Camelot or his friends," Gwaine informed him and Arthur knew it was true. He felt guilty for ever thinking Merlin was evil.

"See, Gwaine? It wasn't your fault, in fact, without you redirecting Morgana she wouldn't have died. You saved a lot of people by telling her where they were going so Merlin could kill her!" Vida piped up. Both guys wheeled around forgetting that she had been there.

Finally Gwaine's face split into a grin that was more like his usual personality. The three sat down and began to eat their food. Vida had not lied; it was the best food Arthur had ever tasted in his life. He had lived in the palace with the best food around, but that was nothing compared to the savory flavors Avalon's food held.

"So, can I get a goblet of ale instead of water?" Gwaine tried asking Vida who laughed at the man.

"Take a drink," was her only response and by the look of glee on the knight's face, Arthur assumed that he was indeed drinking ale.

"Princess, you've got to try this. It's ale is the best I've ever tasted! Well, I suppose it should be since it is Avalon, but still you've got to try it still," Gwaine told him happily and it made Arthur smile to be with his friend.

"You know, mate, I've never been much of an ale person, maybe some other time," Arthur responded and Gwaine just shrugged and drank some more.

Vida smiled, "What did I tell you? A friend is just what you need for a pick me up! Look at how both of you are smiling." The two looked at each other and it was true, they were happy to know someone in Avalon.

Then a thought struck Arthur, "Didn't you say that I was a special case and wouldn't be able to stay with others for very long?"

"I did say that, but I talked to the Triple Goddess and she agreed that you'd need more than just me to help you live here. After that she told me to get Gwaine and let you two be together along with me because you're not getting rid of me that easily," she explained and they were awestruck.

"The Triple Goddess? You spoke to the Triple Goddess?" Gwaine questioned in surprise.

She shrugged, "It's no big deal, I've been here a while and I've got some power to help me out." Arthur continued to look at the little girl in shock. How could she have enough power to talk to the Triple Goddess, who he didn't think existed until now?

Gwaine then asked, "So you've got magic I take it? Why don't you show us some of your power? You've obviously got a lot to be able to talk with someone so powerful."

Arthur nodded, "Merlin showed me a dragon made of fire to reveal himself. Why don't you try that, if you can?"

He had thought that would be a nice suggestion for the girl but her eyes filled with fear, "W-well I-I could probably do that, b-b-but I don't really think I c-could do that. Sorry, I-I could do something else, if you-you'd like." Vida stammered horribly and began to tremble.

Quickly, Arthur said, "Of course that'd be just fine. Whatever you feel like! I'm sorry for upsetting you." They all sat in silence waiting for Vida to calm herself down. It took only a couple of minutes and Arthur didn't want to know what had happened to make Vida act like that.

"_Gewyrc an lif," _Vida whispered and her eyes flashed gold. From her cupped hands came a beautiful looking butterfly. It fluttered lazily around the room then disappeared in a slight wisp of blue smoke. Vida smiled fondly at the place it had been, she loved how magic could look so peaceful.

"That was amazing," Gwaine said after a few moments of silence. Arthur was having a hard time wrapping his head around the thought of magic looking so pure and innocent. The beauty the girl before him had created was incredible; he never imagined that magic could be like that.

Vida smiled shyly, "Thank you."

"So, what are we supposed to be doing now? I mean you spoke about us being able to do loads of stuff, but what can we do?" Arthur asked deciding to be the one who was going to ask that.

Laughing Vida looked at the two men, "There's plenty we can do. Visit with the deceased, watch the living, look at the past, the list goes on and on, but as for what we will do; that would be up to you and you alone. Choose wisely."

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**A/N: What do you think they should do? I've got a couple ideas, but I'd like to know what you'd like to see. Thank you again for reading this, have a wonderful day! :)**


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